Unlocking the Energy Potential of Temple Waste and Coconut Fiber through Refuse-Derived Fuel Production toward Sustainable Energy

Organic temple waste has the potential to be used as biomass-based fuel, with a 90% composition of biodegradable waste consisting of leaves, flowers, fruit, and food scraps. To minimize environmental impact, proper management efforts are necessary to handle the temple waste and produce a valuable product. An alternative method for dealing with organic waste includes producing fuel from biomass which is refuse-derived fuel (RDF). This would not only create a new product for waste wages but also prevent them from ending up as waste in the landfill. The current research aimed to investigate the characteristics of organic temple waste and coconut fiber as RDF material and its potential to replace coal use. The RDF was produced from temple waste using leaf and flower components combined with coconut fiber as the primary ingredients. The material was dried, ground, and produced into powder form before it was analyzed in terms of its characteristics. RDF made from temple waste has best result among coconut fibre and the both mixture with above 4800 kcal/kg. It belongs to class 2 solid fuels based on their characteristics, according to the National Standard for biomass-based fuel. Furthermore, the RDF still needs to be improved for industrial scale and requirement. Product durability test has shown good result for the temple waste material comparing with coconut fibre and coal. The study showed that temple waste and coconut fibre are promising to be processed into RDF as coal substitution in the combustion process.